Identification of low levels of chemicals found outside the laboratory can provide valuable information for counter-terrorism efforts, crime scene investigations, law enforcement, forensics, and environmental chemistry, among many others. An important element of trace chemical detection is the sampling method, which can be described as the interface between the chemical detector and the environment. Since many types of trace chemicals such as fire accelerants, explosive residues, narcotics, toxic pollutants, and chemical warfare agents exhibit very low vapor pressures, some form of energy must be applied to these molecules as part of the sampling method to ensure that their abundance in the gas phase as they exit the sampler and enter the detector is sufficiently high to be detected. Common forms of energy employed in existing chemical samplers include mechanical samplers, which utilize directed air flow and/or surface wiping (as in common airport portal sensors), or thermal energy samplers, for example, heat samplers.